By Drew FitzGerald
Wireless companies racing to build new 5G networks are expected
to bring billions of cameras, sensors and other "smart" devices
along for the ride, a trend that could spell trouble for personal
privacy.
Telecom companies have spent the past year blanketing parts of
China, South Korea and the U.S. with fifth-generation cellular
service, a technology that supercharges downloads to smartphones,
laptops and tablets. But engineers say 5G's true potential comes
from the ability to cheaply link thousands of smaller devices --
like security cameras, traffic sensors and other surveillance
gadgets -- to a single cell tower at a time, up from a few hundred
today.
At the same time, other new standards are making cellular
devices cheaper, more plentiful and easier to maintain, allowing
sensors to be put in places where previously it was too costly to
do so. These machines also are getting better at sipping power so
that a connected device can now spend years in the field without a
battery replacement.
"5G is going to allow sensors all over the place," AT&T
Chief Executive Randall Stephenson said at September event hosted
by the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C. "4G
networks in a square mile can connect thousands of devices. 5G,
millions of devices."
All of these devices will be harvesting reams of data from the
world around them, executives such as Mr. Stephenson say. Already,
cities around the globe have started to use sensors to collect data
on traffic, pedestrians, garbage and buildings. These so-called
"smart city" testbeds offer a window into just how much information
cutting-edge wireless networks might be able to gather.
Police in China, for example, have piloted camera-equipped
glasses that use 5G's extremely quick response times to power
facial-recognition software, allowing authorities to spot targets
before they leave an area. Companies based in North America and
Europe, meanwhile, are highlighting the opportunities 5G technology
offers merchants and marketers, such as the ability to pinpoint how
long a customer lingers in front of a certain store shelf or
display.
Privacy rules
The flood of data that technology companies expect to collect
underscores the need for federal privacy legislation, AT&T's
Mr. Stephenson says. Although lawmakers in Congress have proposed
some federal privacy rules, they have failed to enact them, opening
the way for state and local governments to fill the void.
AT&T has criticized this hodgepodge approach, arguing that
companies need more predictable nationwide policies that aren't as
strict as California's, which will enable consumers to prohibit the
sale of their personal data and ban discounts and other special
treatment for users who opt in to sharing their information.
Without a set of standard privacy rules in the U.S., Chinese
companies rolling out 5G networks and services could gain an edge,
he suggests.
"The Chinese are spending a lot of cycles and a lot of time
permitting cell sites," Mr. Stephenson said. "They're not spending
a lot of cycles and time on privacy policies."
Of course, cameras and sensors predate the first 5G
specifications. AT&T, Verizon Communications Inc. and T-Mobile
USA Inc., for example, use 4G signals to track truck fleets and
rental cars.
Cellphone carriers and app makers already collect troves of
information about their users, including detailed data on where
they live, work and shop. Advertising exchanges make the universe
of companies with access to personal location data even bigger.
New 5G networks, however, will be able to track smartphone users
with more precision, pinpointing a device within centimeters rather
than meters.
"People know that they're being tracked online," says Pankaj
Srivastava, chief operating officer for FigLeaf App Inc., a
software maker that offers tools to safeguard personal information.
"People don't realize that they can be in the same situation in the
physical world."
Fine line
Still, some telecom industry experts warn that aggressive
privacy protections could undercut the economic benefits 5G
technology promises. Tech companies counting on troves of data from
devices like cameras and street sensors to train their software
often attack Europe's General Data Protection Regulation, a set of
strict digital privacy rules that went into effect in 2018, for
depriving them of raw data to analyze, a building block for more
advanced artificial intelligence.
"Europeans shot themselves in the foot with the GDPR," says John
Strand, a Denmark-based telecom consultant. "Read literally, it
prohibits AI and machine learning."
At the same time, lax 5G oversight also could threaten security,
says David Simpson, a Virginia Tech professor who previously ran
the Federal Communications Commission's public safety and homeland
security bureau.
Mr. Simpson cited two examples that affect public safety. On one
hand, cheaper smart sensors could collect real-time information
about the structural integrity of buildings, roads and bridges,
arming civil engineers with data to avoid accidents. If abused,
similar sensors and cameras could also gather location data from
pedestrians passing through the area without their consent, either
on purpose or incidentally.
"While I very much want to not have a crane tumble on my head, I
also want to not have my movement throughout a city trackable by
Big Brother, " Mr. Simpson says. "There are agreed-upon privacy
norms that we should be pursuing. You shouldn't collect more
information on me than you need."
Mr. FitzGerald is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal in
Washington, D.C. Email him at andrew.fitzgerald@wsj.com.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 11, 2019 22:14 ET (03:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024